On satellite platforms that are in earth orbit or on other space missions, it is common practice to use traveling-wave tube amplifiers as part of a signal transmission link or communication link. The traveling-wave tube amplifiers essentially consist of a traveling-wave tube (traveling-wave tube, TWT) and a power supply (also referred to as electronic power conditioner, EPC). The TWT and the EPC are connected to one another with a high voltage cable (HV cable, high voltage). The HV cable is an integral component in the TWT because the high voltages require an electrical connection of high quality, i.e. particularly that the electrical connection is insensitive to external electromagnetic influences. After its integration into the TWT, the HV cable can only be exchanged with great effort or not at all. Significant expenditures may therefore arise, particularly for excessively short HV cable lengths or for HV cable repairs. An EPC is a DC power supply that usually generates several DC high voltages up to 10 kV from a direct voltage up to 100 volt. A traveling-wave tube utilizes the DC high voltage for amplifying a high-frequency signal.
The term high voltage refers to a voltage starting at 1000 volt or 1 kV. At these voltage values, the physical phenomena in the lines are incomparable to those occurring when lower voltages are used. For example, there is a particularly high risk of flashovers between lines with different voltage potentials or between lines and the ground, especially at critical pressure. An extension of the high voltage cable is generally considered to be an unacceptable debilitation of the system properties such that one continuous high voltage cable is typically used for the connection of corresponding components. This is the reason why it is particularly challenging if a high voltage cable proves to be excessively short after the assembly of a high voltage component, for example because the system environment has changed or for other reasons.